Vienna After Dark: Vienna's First International Conference for Club Culture

As an organization tasked by the City of Vienna, the VCC’s mission is to promote and represent the local club culture while ensuring its protection.

For the first time, the Vienna Club Commission will be hosting a conference on urban nightlife with a focus on club culture in Vienna. The conference will be taking place from 14-16 November 2024. The conference will be taking place in partnership with three of the most internationally renowned organisations for urban nightlife: NIGHTS from the European network NEWNet, the international conference STADT NACH ACHT from Berlin, and the global network VIBELAB from Amsterdam.

To highlight the connection between Vienna's high culture and club culture, Club U, Sass Music Club, Salon im Künstlerhaus, Stadtkino, and Ludwig & Adele will be transformed into the main locations of the conference from Thursday to Friday. On Saturday, satellite events will take place in clubs across the city.

The programme features over 25 keynotes, panel discussions, workshops, networking meetings, and excursions through Vienna’s nightlife. More than 125 speakers from over 15 countries will be invited to discuss the social, cultural, and economic relevance of club culture.

Local Co-Curators Bring Expertise Directly from the Scene

• Janet Bakalarz (Awareness-Activist at AwA, hausgemacht, heimlich, GAZE Wien, PsyCare Austria)
• Karin Cheng (Founder of Kiki House of Dive, Less, frisch getanzt and DJ at RAR, Hotpotposse & a party called JACK)
• Masha Dabelka (DJ, producer & founder of Turntablista)
• Rey Joichl (Performance artist & community organiser at transmotion, Brunnenpassage, Hyperreality & SPI_T Festival
• Sandro Nicolussi (Musician, booker and journalist at BYDL, Kollektiv Sandkasten Syndikat, Enigmatic Serenades at FLUCC & former editor-in-chief at The Gap)
• Dorian Pearce (cultural manager, DJ, music producer, mastermind behind Rapper lesen Rapper, co-founder of Four Elements, part of The Loft management-core-team & organiser of the Wiener Label Tage)

Social, Cultural, and Economic Focus Areas of a 24-Hour City

The programme includes questions such as “What does the younger generation value when partying?” and delves into topics like mental health, awareness, and drug policy. Additionally, the NIGHT(S)Science segment will issue a call for abstracts, inviting researchers to submit their scientific work on nightlife.

Inspiration will be drawn from international best-practice examples in policy-making and socio-economic challenges, as well as projects such as a noise protection fund and the agent-of-change principle.

The programme will also explore institutional developments in nightlife, facilitating exchange and networking between local, national, and international club commissions.

Against the backdrop of each club culture defining its city and each city defining its club culture, sustainable processes will be initiated, and solutions will be sought to appreciate the creative efforts of the club and event scene and to strengthen the local club culture in the long term.

Stay tuned for the upcoming programme.